Sakura Memories
by fiery.quixote
Summary: She had a feeling that something was to change that day and it was because she saw this guy with crimson-red eyes. ( 10 years after she left the Academy, memory of them erased, they finally found her and it was time to make her come back and remember.) NxM RxH. ONE SHOT.


_FQ: I practically wrote this because the manga is driving me insane - it made me cry and wish there was more._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or other books being mentioned here.**

* * *

**Sakura Memories**

She breathed deeply as she entered into the park. She was already twenty-two years old and was working at a day care center taking care of kids from Monday to Saturday morning. Even though she was tired after another long week of work, coming to this place makes the exhaustion go away.

Her chestnut hair flowed as the wind blew and her skin sparkled as the warmth of the sun engulfed her. She walked through the park to find her favorite spot and smiled brightly when she found it empty. Sitting below the shade of a Sakura tree, she exhaled. Something was special about the tree, though she could not tell why. It was surely deeper than just sharing the same name.

She racked through her memories in Okinawa and did not find anything special related to the tree. She remember just passing some as she walked to school but there was always this sentiment of warmth, happiness and perhaps ... of love.

'_Huh, love.'_ She thought. It is one thing she really was not good at. Heck, she was even better in Math than of love: and that says something considering Math was her worst subject.

She sighed. '_Something is going to happen today'_ she said to herself. She woke up this morning with a gut feeling that her life was about to change.

'_Today has been like all those Saturdays_' sniggering as she dismissed the thought.

She opened her bag and brought out her notebook and pen and a pack of candy she bought from a newly opened store along the way.

When she ate the sweet, she felt as if she was in heaven. It was fluffy, it was delicious, and it tasted as the best thing in the world.

'_Howalon_' she muttered and her brows suddenly quirked. '_What am I talking about?_'

'_Ho-wa-lon_' she said slowly.

_How alone? Who alone? Howalon?_

She did not know what it really meant but it felt vaguely familiar. Quickly, she wrote it down in her notebook. It was the one hundred twenty eighth entry in her list of drabbles. It contained words and phrases she thought was weird or inexistent and scenes from her dreams that felt so real.

Like those in Marvel comics named X-men, which she read, she remembered one about kids with different powers.

'_Mutants'_ she though and reflexively shook her head.

"They're called 'Alice'" she said it loud.

'_Now that's the 129th_' she laughed at herself as she scribbled it down.

She closed her eyes and then looked up in the sky '_I really am going crazy._' She read some entries again as she cackled at the vividness of her imagination. There was '_baka-gun_', '_crazy bear who punches students_', '_Central town_' and the list goes on.

Immediately she touched one entry that read '_red eyes._' It always made her heart beat fast as it was now.

'_Maybe you're the one_' she tittered at another weird thought. "Who the hell in this world would have those beautiful red eyes?" She shouted as people look at her.

"Are you okay miss?" a guy who seemed to be walking 5 dogs stopped to ask her.

"I'm okay, I'm on speaker phone," she said as she hurriedly fished out her phone from her pocket and waved it to the stranger. "Sorry for troubling you" she said as the person nodded and left her alone.

"Okay, thank you. Bye!" she said to the imaginary person she was talking to on the other side of the phone.

She shook her head erasing her thoughts about the embarrassing scene and looked around instead. She smiled as she saw a couple holding hands while strolling. She really was not a fan of public displays of affection, she was annoyed at the thought that some couples were really out of the line which can urge her shout to something in the line of 'Get a room.'

Nevertheless, what she felt was not annoyance; it was sweet enough to make her jealous. The blonde guy held the black-haired girl's shoulder and kissed her forehead softly as she comforted her. It made her _'aww'_ and teary, making her think she was watching a live shooting.

She looked away because she was a sucker for romance movies and observing them made her shy and so she tried to notice other people in the park. She saw kids running towards the playground, the guy who asked her a while ago was now chasing a loose dog and an old couple cuddling in a bench.

The busyness of the park somewhat distracted her from her thoughts a while ago. Then she noticed a man just standing there looking at the Sakura trees.

She looked up at the tree above her and noticed it was about to bloom and then she looked at the guy who seemed to be looking at her tree still glued on his spot.

She eyed him closely since he was only a few meters away from him. His jet-black hair was a bit messy but added to his appeal and he got a great build as she looked at his arms. He was wearing a black shirt, a jeans and a pair of chucks.

"_No wonder girls were somewhat stopping and drooling, he was an attraction. He looked like a model that just came out from a magazine."_ She concluded.

She watched him again and giggled.

Suddenly the guy turned towards her.

Amber met crimson.

Her breath hitched as she saw his eyes, it was RED and it was wide with shock.

'_No way_, _this can't be true_.'

She looked away with her heart beating crazy as she felt the person's gaze. '_Those eyes were the same as those in her dreams.'_

She blinked as he looked back at him. '_They were still red._' And blinked. '_This is not a dream_.' And blinked again.

"Natsume" she said, flabbergasted as to why she said that but then the guy seemed to smile a little as if she was right.

"Mikan" he said back slowly walking towards her.

She froze. _How did she know her name_? _She didn't know him, right_? _His eyes were only from a dream_!

"Mikan" he said again as she was only a step away from her. She abruptly stood up was about to ask him who he was.

As soon as a syllable came out from her mouth, he suddenly hugged her. Her eyes were wide and her thoughts were swarming. _Maybe he embraced the wrong girl_.

"God, I miss you Mikan Sakura" _Well, maybe not_.

Her hands were on her sides still and unmoving as his was wrapped around her crushing her body. Honestly, she was not that disturbed, noting the fact that the guy hugging her was handsome and ,boy, did he smell good.

But the feeling was comfortable, very comfortable as if he felt like home. She needs to ask him who he was and why he was there. This was making her crazier.

"Who-, Who are you?" she started and noticed as he froze at the question. He slowly pulled away and sighed. His eyes filled with sadness and she felt her fist close.

"You don't know me?" his voice was colder than earlier and she felt her heart clench as she saw again his eyes.

"Natsume?" she was about to say that when another voice came in. She looked pass his shoulder and saw the couple she was looking at a while ago walk towards them.

"Ruka, Hotaru" Natsume said as he looked at them, "I finally found her," he continued as she felt relief in his voice.

"Sakura" the blonde named Ruka said as he smiled but his faced seemed to be a bit troubled.

"Mikan" the girl, Hotaru, said, "after ten years, we meet again" eyes, teary and voice, cracking at the end.

"This must be some kind of joke" Mikan said as she stepped back away from the three. "I'm not the one you are looking for"

"The Memory Erasing Alice" Hotaru said calmly. "It wasn't that powerful, the effect on her is possibly not permanent."

"How?" Ruka asked.

"I have a theory: An amount of her Nullification Alice, though small, may still be present the time her memories were erased. In the short run she would forget but as time passes by she'll slowly remember" Hotaru explained.

"She called be by my name awhile ago Ruka, I'm with Imai on this one," Natsume said.

"Have you been spying on me?" Mikan accused them. "How'd you know about 'Alice'. I wrote that a while ago see?" she said as she showed them her notebook.

"She remembers!" Ruka shouted as he read some entries. "Look she's talking about Narumi here," he said to his friends as he pointed entry _#118 Blonde guy who wears girly clothes_.

"Hey don't read the other stuff," Mikan shouted at Ruka as she shove away her notebook.

"You showed it to us," Natsume chuckled as he said "unbelievable; you're still a _baka_ after all these years."

"I am not stupid!" she debated "you can't call me that."

"I've been calling you that in school" he smirked as she was taken aback "and yes we were classmates, the four of us. Number 104 Class 5-B"

She stopped glaring at him and checked. He was right, Class 5-B was #104. "Okay, okay" she surrendered "I know what this is" the three sighed in relief "I'm on TV right?"

Natsume growled and punched the trunk of the tree. "Stop joking around, we're serious."

She jumped out of shock as he did that. One of his friends patted him in the back and calming him down.

"Look, I'll stop talking to you and leave right now." Mikan said.

"No, you're going with us," Natsume insisted.

"No way, I don't even KNOW you!" she shouted emphasizing one word.

"Stop saying that!" Natsume retorted.

"Stop saying what?" she countered.

"Stop saying you don't know us" she took another step back as she felt his voice go dangerously low.

"Can you leave me alone?" she pleaded this time, knowing this argument would not stop if both sides were stubborn and he was definitely scaring her.

"Mikan" he said again as his voice softened and he tried to reach for her hand. Her name sound good coming from his lips, his voice was so velvety and tempting, but she cannot falter. '_What if they're kidnappers_? _But she wasn't rich_. _What if they were rapists?_' she shuddered at the thought _Keep me safe kami-sama_.

"Please, Mikan" he said again and she looked, which was a mistake on her part. His eyes were full of sincerity now and she became weak.

"Convince me," she tried to stay strong. "Why would I go with you?"

"Your memory was erased, we want you to remember" Ruka answered honestly.

"Don't give me that crap!" Mikan said harshly as Ruka winced, she didn't really want to do it but she needed a logical answer.

"Like I told you, it's the result of-" Hotaru was cut off by a devastated brunette.

"Please stop with the memory thing and the powers. This is not Harry Potter, I wasn't permanently _Obliviated_ by someone because there is some sort of _Proteg_o charm around me. My memories are still intact, I remember everything!" Mikan explained.

"Do you like hanging under the Sakura tree?" Natsume asked out of the blue.

"Yes?" Mikan answered, not sure how it is connected with the situation.

"Why?" he asked again.

"Because-" she stammered as she scan her mind for the right reason. "Because-"

"We used to hangout in the Sakura tree before," Natsume started as Mikan eyes were darted at him. "I always read my manga or sleep under the shade tree, and then you come looking for me. You talk about your day, ask me how's mine. You kept blabbering, actually." He smirked at the memory.

"The sakura tree is special to us, Mikan," he said as he got out his wallet and brought out a photo. "It is our sanctuary," he continued as he gave the picture to her.

She gazed at it and tears started to came out from her eyes. '_It can't be true, it was too accurate._'The uniform was like the one in her dreams, the girl in pigtails looked exactly like her and the boy has the same red eyes as those she thought was only a product of her imagination and as Natsume's.

'_I can't be here. This is too much,_' she concluded at she quickly picked her belongings, dropping the picture in the process.

Her head was spinning now. She saw images of Hotaru with a baka-gun in her arms, Ruka and his promise, Natsume injured, faces of the people she thinks are her friends and a big school.

She was now running away from them. '_Perhaps this only a dream_' she shook her head '_no, this is a nightmare. Wake up Mikan._'

It was too fast, it was too sudden, and it was making her head explode. She couldn't take it anymore and then she saw black.

x x x

As soon as she left, Natsume quickly ran after her and caught her before she fell to the ground.

"That was fast, Natsume," the blonde huffed as he and Hotaru ran towards them.

"She's still hard headed as usual" Hotaru commented as she eyed the unconscious brunette being carried bridal-style. "I'm glad she's still the same" she said as a small smile appeared.

"By the way, here" Ruka said to his best friend as he handed the photo that fell. Noticing Natsume's hands were full and decided to place it in the pocket of his shirt. "Nice speech, though, It is our sanctuary." He mocked his friend and earned a glare.

"I never thought you still got that picture, heck, I didn't even know you had one" Ruka asked changing slightly the topic.

"A certain someone gave it to me" Natsume replied glancing at Hotaru. There was a small smile from his lips as he was remembering the scene; it was when he was still recovering from his 'almost death' that he noticed a box with pictures of him and Mikan with a note that said '_Don't worry, you'll meet her again.'_

Ruka looked at his girlfriend and held her hand, squeezing it. "Shall we go back? I bet everyone will certainly be excited. We all looked for her after getting out of the Academy." Both his companions nodded and walked towards their car.

Natsume looked at the sleeping girl in his arms and whispered "This time, polka-dots, I'll never let you go."

x x x

The room was full of people now, too many people he thought. After Hotaru called 3 persons yesterday; Narumi, their gay homeroom teacher; Tsubasa, the shadow guy; and Yuu their class representative. News has spread like wild fire.

They arrived yesterday night at the academy and the sleeping beauty was still resting. Kazumi Yukihira, Mikan's uncle and the High School Principal was the first one to visit last midnight and told them to have some shut eye. At 5 in the morning people started to come to visit her.

He was standing there in the corner pretending to read his manga but was truly observing the persons around. There was another knock at the door and the HSP opened it. Another group of his classmates arrived, it was Kitsuneme, Mochu, Koko and suprisingly Shouda, who was holding then mind reader's hand.

As if on cue, "Hey Natsume" Koko greeted him as he waved his hands.

He glared at him warning him to stop whatever he's doing. "Sorry, old habits die hard!" His friend apologized and dashed towards the group near the bed where Mikan was lying.

He didn't really want to go back to the Academy, he wanted to forget all those bad memories he encountered. But this isn't about him, it was for her, for Mikan.

Mikan Sakura was lying on a soft bed in the other side of the room. She was still unconscious. But what really matters is that she was there and it was real.

x x x

She hears a weird noise as she slowly awakens. It was buzzing in her ears and she didn't understand a bit.

'_Where am I?_' she asked herself and noticed the darkness.

'_Why was it pitch black?_' And suddenly she remembered her encounter with people at the park who seemed to know her.

'_Am I kidnapped_?'

She thought hard and felt that she wasn't in any pain besides her confusion. She was sitting, no she was lying down somewhere soft and comfy.

She was sleeping! '_So that's why it was dark_,' her eyes were still closed. She breathed in.

The buzzing sound a while ago has become clearer and she noticed that there were people around her, speaking and some laughing as if there was a party around her.

She was curious enough to make her force her eyes to open. The light was blinding at first and it took time for her eyes to adjust. Then she looked around.

There was a pink-haired girl near her bead talking to a guy with glasses, a cute bear was also there serving drinks, she also noticed Hotaru conversing with a man wearing a military uniform, Ruka playing with a gray headed kid, and Natsume in the corner, reading.

She was about to close her eyes as someone shouted "Mikan, you're awake" the people suddenly were quiet and she looked where the voice came from.

She saw this spiky haired blonde guy with a plastered large grin in his face waving at her, suddenly the girl behind him shrieked with some kind of undefined happiness and the people came around her.

"Mikan?" the guy who was talking to Hotaru awhile ago asked.

She looked at him to show that he has her attention. "Do you know me?" She didn't find him that familiar, but she felt safe under his gaze. She shook her head.

"I understand. I'm your Uncle. Your father's brother," he said slowly as if he was talking to a toddler, she wasn't insulted though and now she nodded. "I'm Kazumi, Kazumi Yuki-."

"Yukihira," she heard her voice say that. The man was shocked and so was she. Then he sighed out of relief and smiled.

"Hotaru's theory probably is correct," he announced to everyone as some jumped for joy.

"So it's true?" she asked not knowing where to start, "These Alices, powers? It's real."

"Yes, Mikan it is," another man with long blonde hair answered as he nodded and tears were coming out from his eyes.

"Why'd you erase my memory?" she asked.

"You lost your Alice, Mikan. School policy states that you only persons with an Alice are allowed here," the guy explained. "Plus with the war-"

"I remember something about a war, it was against Z, right?" she cut him off.

"Yes, and you were greatly involved. We couldn't risk your safety and your happiness that's why it was decided that your memories were erased." He continued to explain.

"And I agreed to that?" she asked as she was already breathing heavily.

"You did, Mikan." He answered back.

It was still a lot to process, in her case. It was like having temporary Amnesia. Now the question in her mind now was '_Will I remember?'_

"Don't worry, you'll remember everything. We'll help you," the spiky guy said. "And I'm Kokoroyomi, you called me Koko back then." He added with a wink.

'_The mind reader,_' she thought and he grinned while bobbing his head in agreement.

"Mikan, do you know me?" a guy with black hair and a star tattoo on his cheek asked.

"I'm sorry," she answered back, sad that she didn't remember him.

"I'm Tsubasa, your favorite sempai" he said and a guy with long black hair smacked him in the head as said, "No Mikan, I'm your favorite sempai, I'm Tono, remember?" and the people in the room chuckled, including her, as both started to argue. Good thing a pretty lady with short pink hair suddenly stopped them by banging their heads together.

"Sensei? Narumi-sensei" the boy with glasses asked the long blonde guy. "Why don't we have another lesson? A lesson about memories."

And everybody started to agree.

x x x

She didn't know where her feet were taking her, she even wasn't really familiar of the place. But she was told she spent more than a year here.

Her thoughts were swirling a while ago, it was really hard to believe at first, but when they showed her their Alice and told her about the non withering flowers that she truly cherished, placed in the bedside in her room, se was convinced they were telling the truth.

Only her jii-chan knew about those, and he died after she graduated high school. _God bless his soul_, and she knew he didn't tell anybody nor did she let others enter her room.

The people she met again were nice and welcoming, she was sad that she didn't remember them all but what happened awhile ago was like meeting them the first time again. The stories they told were funny and refreshing and she felt that this was her family, besides from the parents and her jii-chan who were all up in the sky.

She stopped her tracks and found herself under a Sakura tree.

"Why are you here, little girl?" a voice asked. She looked up in the tree and saw Natsume sitting in a branch.

"I really don't know," he raised his brows as if not believing her. "Okay, I needed some place to think and sort this out." She answered.

His brows were still up and she continued "And … and I noticed you weren't there, so I decided to look for you since lunch will be served in a few minutes."

"Hn." He replied and looked up to the sky. He thought she left but when he heard some rustling of the leaves, he saw her climb the tree.

_Andrenaline, _it was one reason she decided to climb the tree, perhaps curiosity was too. She was almost near Natsume and was only one branch away. Suddenly she slipped and closed her eyes waiting for the impact of her fall.

She felt her wrist being grabbed and herself being pulled up. Next thing she knew Natsume's hands were on her hips and she was beside him.

"You're still an idiot, you know." He smirked and she slapped his arm playfully. He smiled at the fact that she was comfortable with him.

There was silence and she said "Our sanctuary, huh," and they looked at each other.

He cupped her cheeks with his other free hand and caressed it slowly. Their eyes met again. Her heart was beating fast and she felt herself blush.

"I missed you." He whispered. She smiled and touched his face. He was even more beautiful up close, especially his eyes.

"Thank you, Natsume." She said. "For finding me." It was time to speak from her heart, though her mind forgot, she was sure her heart was saying this.

He smiled again and asked "Can I kiss you?"

She looked down and nodded. He tilted her head up and he kissed her, immediately she kissed back. It was soft at first, showing how much he missed her, how much he cared. It then grew deeper his other hand was now in her back drawing her closer to him. Her hands were now on his neck, then on his hair. It was passionate and needy and she felt fireworks, the best fireworks.

They stopped kissing because of the lack of breath and the looked at each other again.

"I love you Mikan." He whispered. "I know your feeling confused now and don't feel about me the same way. Nevertheless, I'll be with you every step of the way. I'll help you remember everything. You loved me once, I'm sure I can make you love me again. This time-"

She placed a finger in his lips to stop him, she giggled witnessing him lose his cool composure. "You know," she started "you look really adorable when you talk too much."

He looked away embarrassed at what he did and because he felt rejection from her.

"Hey" she said to him and this time she used her hand to make him face her. "The mind may forget, but the heart would never. One thing I'm sure about now is that I love you"

He froze not believing what he heard.

"I love you too, Natsume. And I'm sure about that" She whispered.

And without hesitation he kissed her again.

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4/20/13 2:19 am ~

4/22/13 - 8:10pm~

FQ: Tell me what you think :) The idea just came like an epiphany for me and I just can't stop writing ...I know it's a bit sappy but my feelings exploded like a bomb due to the recent GA chapter I read. But I hope, that there will truly be a happy ending in G.A.

Oh yeah, there's a **Review** button too!


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